So far, the year 2014, is a precursor to the general elections slated for next year but in Ekiti, it offers both the state and the country, an opportunity like no other time. With Ekiti, “We, the people” are hopeful. One can’t blame people for hoping for the best, in spite of telling signs that all may not be well, as some miscreants true to their calling as anarchists, will do all within their means to subvert the people and the electoral process with relish.
At first glance, this conclusion may seemingly appear alarming but when adapted within the context of emerging realities, such as, the use of brute force in dispersing members of the All Progressive Congress, (APC), led by Senator Babafemi Ojudu with several hundreds of supporters on a peaceful rally, the recent killing of a member of the APC, and the targeted assault and utter contempt for Governor Kayode Fayemi, by a mid-level drunken police officer, you will realize the gravity of the threat in Ekiti. The ultimate insult was that when this obviously mentally unstable officer was accosted, he poured expletives on the governor and battered a security detail in his convoy, ululating that he was above the law and as such, could not be held accountable for his indiscretion. This sad incident is difficult to comprehend and continues to throttle popular reasoning.
Electoral contest in Ekiti, is usually a “Chronicle of a crisis foretold”. The budding inferno and attendant turmoil can be arrested if the well orchestrated plan to vitiate the peoples will is stopped. Everybody and agencies involved in the election must come to a reality that all lawfully casted votes must count. Therefore, the evolving scenario faces no insurmountable barriers. It is only a call for full participation and vigilance.
I salute Fayemi and his associates for reacting differently in the face of blatant provocation(s) and it is expected that many will still come under diverse guises before the election, that he restraint himself and associates is quite commendable. He has demonstrated that he is the personification of civility and Ekiti virtues of forbearance. Mind you, I didn’t say, weakness. Fittingly, electorates in Ekiti, must be guided by the saying of Kofi Annan, “Everyday that we do nothing, or too little imposes higher costs on our children and our children’s children”.
Initially, I recoiled at the horror visited on Governor Fayemi, but upon further ruminations, it became obvious to me what the immediate objective was. It is simply an attempt to bully the people into silence before the scripted drama of a planned electoral heist is introduced. Still, one can imagine the effect of this desperation and the danger it poses to the electoral process. As the saying goes, “in the age of liberal order, revisionist struggles are a fool’s errand”.
After the drama of the absurd, I was permitted by the inimitable presenter of Focus Nigeria, Gbenga Aruleba, to the studio of African Independent Television, (AIT), to observe the governor in flesh, just a few days back. I didn’t opt for that, wanting to be impressed. That was achieved long ago. I wanted to gauge his reaction and see if he would abdicate. Evidently, he remains strong, straightforward and manly in character. He marshalled his points with facts and inspired my sagging morale. I quickly, by the way, realized the conflict, stakes and issues. He was plain unlike what the “bull in the china shop” would say or do. No distortion, no embellishment. No garrulity. He agreed that he has not scored a hundred percent in terms of accomplishments but asserted that he was certainly on the way, demanding for a second term, stating that he was not a dude check. I was impressed by such analogy. Only a razor sharp mind can do so.
Many people have in the past said and rightly so, that June 21st election is about the future of Ekiti, but it is more than that. It is about its potentials to roar and the calibre of person who can give vent to that roar. He has kept faith with the Omoluabi ethos, kind in spirit, firm in purpose and reassuring in the highest degree. That cannot be said of the evangelist of “bolekaja politics” and the other candidate propelled by sheer bitterness and pettiness. The irony of unintended consequences is especially acute here, no thanks to the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP). Where individual’s memory fades, collective memory should come to the rescue. A party that can present such a man with dubious credentials cannot claim to be at the vanguard of its much touted transformational agenda. Such a retrogressive gang ought to be shunned!
As a consequent to June 21, the state is in the thrones of a major structural transformation like never before. As with the cases, with any birth process, the fluid, complex and uncertainty are extremely perilous and challenging. Quite alarming is that, in spite of the substantially obvious changes which have occurred under JKF, remnants and beneficiaries of the old decayed order have tried to resurrect the wreckage of the past. Perhaps the verdict of an “end of history” was indeed a hasty dismissal of the obnoxious character that won’t let go easily. I must confess that his re-intrusion and fayemiphobic campaign reveals the structural defects within our political system. How such a “leper” will lead an orchestra is indicting in all ramifications even if the greater burden is best heaped on the PDP. Hooliganism in any shape cannot be said to be a virtue nor confer advantage in Ekiti.
Asked if he was afraid. He stated that he has no fear but only concerns. I was touched. He was human after all. There and then, my conviction about him was further cemented. Even in the face of the looming doom and gloom as predicted by many, my vote for him is cast in stone.
Rotimi Opeyeoluwa is a legislative Aide to Senator Babafemi Ojudu and the South-West Coordinator of the Young Patriots.
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